Matthew (Luke 6:15a)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/1/2026 9:32 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                                 Focus:  Matthew

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                     Reference:  Luke 6:15a

            Message of the verse:  “Matthew”

            This evening I will begin looking at one of my favorite apostles, that is Matthew from the commentary of John MacArthur.

            “Luke’s introduction of Matthew marks the halfway point both in the second group of  four apostles (Phil, Bartholomew, Matthew, and Thomas) and in the list of Twelve.  Although he was the author of one of the four Gospels, little is revealed in the New Testament about him.  Matthew himself in his own gospel (9:9-10) and Luke (5:27-29) briefly describes his call by the Lord, and the reception for sinners he gave afterwards.  Those two incidents mark Matthew’s only appearance in the Gospels, apart from the lists of the apostles.  Matthew’s silence about himself in his gospel in particular reveals him to have been humble, self-effacing, and content to remain in the background.”  As I think about this last statement it comes to my mind that perhaps Matthew did not want to be recognized because of the fact that he was a tax collector, which made him hated by those in Israel.

            “Like several of the other apostles, he had two names:  Matthew (Matt. 9:9) and Levi (Luke 5:27).  He was a tax collector by profession, which makes his selection as an apostle all the more remarkable.  Tax collectors were despised outcasts in Jewish society.  They were traitors, who opportunistically collaborated with the Romans for their own financial gain.  Tax collectors purchased tax franchises from the Romans, and anything they collected beyond what was required of them (cf. Luke 3:12-13) went into their own pockets.  They practiced larceny, extortion, exploitation, and even loan sharking, loaning out money at exorbitant interest to those who were unable to pay their taxes.  Tax collectors also employed thugs to physically intimidate people into paying whatever they demanded, and to beat up those who refused.

            “All of that infuriated the Jewish people, who believed that God was the only one to whom they should pay taxes.  They scorned tax collectors, classified them as unclean, and banned them from the synagogues.  Since the Jews considered tax collectors to be habitual liars, they were not permitted to give testimony in a Jewish court.  Tax collectors came to symbolize the epitome of evil (cf. Matt. 18:17; 21:3-12; Luke 5:30; 7:34; 18:11).

            “There were two types of tax collectors, the gabbai, who collected the general taxes such as the land, poll, and income taxes, and the mokhes, who collected the more specific taxes, such as those on the transport of goods, letters, produce, using roads, crossing bridges, and almost anything else the greedy traitors could think of (cf. Alfred Edersheim,  The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah  [Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1974], 1:515-18).  There were in turn two kinds of mokhes, the great mokhes, and the little mokhes.  The great mokhes did not actually collect taxes, but hired others to do so for him.  The little mokhes would be employed by the great mokhes to actually collect taxes.  Because they were the ones who interacted with the people on a regular basis, they were the ones who bore the brunt of their anger and hatred.  Matthew was one such little mokhes (Luke 5:27), one of the most despised and reviled men in Capernaum.

            “Yet when Jesus called him, Matthew unhesitatingly ‘left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him’ (Luke 5:28).  Unlike some of the other apostles who had been fishermen (cf. John 21:1-3), Matthew could never go back to his profession.  The great mokhes for whom he had worked would have immediately replaced him.  Why was Matthew willing to walk away from his lucrative business and follow Jesus knowing what the future held?  Despite being an outcast from Judaism, Matthew was nonetheless very familiar with the Old Testament, more than any other gospel writer.  Matthew believed in the true God, and understood the Scriptures.  Like most of his countrymen, he was expecting the Messiah to come.  Apparently through his interaction with those from whom he collected taxes, he had heard all about Jesus’ miraculous works and powerful preaching.  His heart was ready when the Lord called him, and his faith was strong enough for him to drop everything and obey the call.

            “The genuineness of Matthew’s repentance and faith revealed itself in the banquet he gave in his home after Jesus called him (Matt. 9:10; Luke 5:29; with characteristic humility, Matthew did not mention that the reception was in his own house.) He invited his fellow tax collectors and other associated sinners—the riffraff of Jewish society.

            “After this reception, Matthew fades from the gospel record.  Neither is anything known for certain about his life and ministry after Pentecost. Most accounts agree that he preached the gospel to the Jewish people before ministering to the Gentiles, possibly in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea, or in Persia, Macedonia, or Syria.  Nor do the traditions agree on the place or manner of his death.  According to some accounts, he was burned at the stake, while others state that he was beheaded or stoned to death.  But in any case this man, who freely abandoned a lucrative, if criminal., career to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, never looked back.  Matthew willingly gave his all for Him to the very end.”

7/1/2026 10:15 PM